http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-41510730<\/p>\n
The government in the western state of Maharashtra has ordered a probe after
\nsuspected pesticide poisoning killed at least 50 farmers. Journalist Jaideep Hardikar
\nreports from Yavatmal district, one of the worst affected areas.
\nPravin Soyam, 23, was in perfect health when he suddenly developed a chest pain, followed
\nby vomiting and nausea. Then, he became completely disoriented. He died a day later, on 27
\nSeptember, at a government hospital.
\nJAIDEEP HARDIKAR
\nHome News Sport Weather Shop Earth Travel
\n10\/5\/2017 The Indian farmers falling prey to pesticide – BBC News
\nhttp:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-41510730 2\/8
\nDoctors who attended to him suspected that Mr Soyam was yet another victim of pesticide
\npoisoning in Maharashtra. They believe he fell sick after inhaling a deadly cocktail of
\npesticides that he had sprayed on his family’s cotton field two days earlier.
\nAt least 50 farmers have died from suspected pesticide poisoning in Maharashtra since July,
\naccording to officials and media reports. As the death toll continues to rise, the BJP-led state
\ngovernment has ordered an inquiry.
\nMost of the deaths – 19 – were reported from Yavatmal district, a major cotton-growing area
\nthat has often been in the news for farmers’ suicides.
\nMore than 800 farmers in the district were also admitted to hospitals during that time, officials
\nsaid.
\nFarmers in Yavatmal, who mainly grow cotton, soybean and lentils, told the BBC that they use
\na highly potent mix of pesticides, both in powder and liquid form.
\nThey also cultivate a genetically modified variety of cotton, which is supposed to be resistant
\nto bollworms, a pest that attacks cotton crops.
\nBut many farmers have said that bollworms still attacked their crops this year, which led them
\nto increase their use of pesticides.
\nWhy a problem of plenty is hurting India’s farmers
\nHow drought is changing rural India
\nNikesh Kathane, 21, said he collapsed after spraying pesticide on his crops for seven days in
\na row.
\n“I had a very heavy head and I could not see anything,” he said while recuperating in the
\nIntensive Care Unit (ICU) of the local hospital.
\nREUTERS
\n10\/5\/2017 The Indian farmers falling prey to pesticide – BBC News
\nhttp:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-41510730 3\/8
\nMr Kathane, who is out of danger now, said he would never use pesticides again.
\nIn fact, many farmers who spoke to the BBC said they had stopped spraying pesticides for
\nfear of falling sick.
\n“This is a very unusual phenomenon,” Dr Ashok Rathod, dean of the local government
\nhospital told the BBC, adding that the hospital usually treated farmers who deliberately
\nconsumed pesticide.
\nDoctors have said treating accidental poisoning was harder because they can’t wash the
\nstomach to remove traces of poison that have been ingested. Inhaling pesticides also affects
\nthe respiratory system.
\nDoctors in the area have said they first noticed cases of suspected pesticide poisoning in the
\nlast week of July. They admitted 41 patients displaying similar symptoms – vomiting,
\ndizziness, respiratory problems, visual impairment and disorientation.
\nThe figure rose to 111 in August, and more than doubled to 300 in September.
\nAt least 10 of the farmers who are currently being treated at the hospital are on life support,
\nwhile 25 others have suffered visual impairment, hospital authorities said.
\nIn September, district officials asked agriculture scientists to do a field study to investigate the
\nspate of deaths and illnesses.
\nThe resulting report blamed farmers for not taking precautions while spraying the crop. It said
\nthey had not used a prescribed protection kit, eye-glasses or gloves.
\nMr Soyam’s father, Bhaurao admitted that his son did not follow the safety measures before
\nusing the pesticide.
\nJAIDEEP HARDIKAR
\n10\/5\/2017 The Indian farmers falling prey to pesticide – BBC News
\nhttp:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-41510730 4\/8
\nBut he said that his son had sprayed pesticides without protective gear in the past as well. So
\nwhat happened this time?
\nHad the farmers used a spurious pesticide? Were they using a new formulation they weren’t
\naware of? Had there been any advisories?
\nBack in Mr Soyam’s home, his brother, Namdev, pulled out packets of pesticides that they had
\nsprayed.
\n“It could have easily been me,” he said, staring at a framed photograph of his brother<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-india-41510730 The government in the western state of Maharashtra has ordered a probe after suspected pesticide poisoning killed at least 50 farmers. Journalist Jaideep Hardikar reports from Yavatmal district, one of the worst affected areas. Pravin Soyam, 23, was in perfect health when he suddenly developed a chest pain, followed by vomiting and nausea. Then, he became completely disoriented. He… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/eastasiaandoceaniablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}